Why Boris Johnson was sacked from the shadow cabinet
Tory leadership contender faced scrutiny over his private life long before recent furore over row with girlfriend
![Boris Johnson and Michael Howard](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/en3eE2YgsVCvLCuzoVvuvP-415-80.jpg)
Boris Johnson is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons amid reports of a row with his girlfriend that saw police called to their London flat.
The Tory leadership front-runner has refused to answer any questions about the incident, during which neighbours dialled 999 to report overhearing a loud argument between him and Carrie Symonds.
His reputation has taken a further hit after The Observer obtained unused footage from a documentary by US filmmaker Alison Klayman that suggests he received guidance from Donald Trump’s controversial former campaign manager Steve Bannon last July, in the same week that Johnson resigned from Theresa May’s government. The MP has previously dismissed reports of links with Bannon as a “lefty delusion”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As Johnson now faces new questions about his character and judgement, the focus is back on his past behaviour, says the Financial Times - including the scandal that bought his shadow cabinet career to an end in 2004.
So what happened?
Johnson married his first wife, Allegra Mostyn-Owen, in 1987 after they met at Oxford, but split after allegedly having an affair with author and lawyer Marina Wheeler, whom he married in 1993.
Johnson then met fellow journalist Petronella Wyatt when he was the editor of The Spectator and she was one of his columnists. The two began an affair shortly before he was elected Conservative MP for Henley in 2001.
As The Sun reports, news of their relationship hit the British press in 2004, along with claims that Wyatt had fallen pregnant and had an abortion.
Rumours of the affair had dogged Johnson prior to the revelation, and only one week earlier he had dismissed the allegations as an “inverted pyramid of piffle”, according to The Guardian.
He also scored an own goal by repeating that claim to Michael Howard, then Tory party leader. Howard subsequently asked Johnson to resign, and when he refused, sacked him from his roles as the party’s arts spokesperson and vice chair.
How didJohnson respond?
At the time, Johnson said it was a “wretched and lamentable day when people’s private lives can become used in political machinations”. He added that Howard should not have made the decision to sack him “in response to tabloid stories about my private life” .
An unnamed friend told The Daily Telegraph that Johnson felt that “the whole thing has been handled pathetically badly” and that he “feels it is private life and nobody else’s business”.
When challenged over the incident by BBC journalist Eddie Mair during an interview in 2013, Johnson refused to comment - a strategy he is sticking with over the latest furore, too.
At a Conservative Party event in Birmingham last week, Johnson was relentlessly grilled over his row with Symonds, with interviewer Iain Dale repeatedly asking him to clarify what happened.
The Tory leadership hopeful responded: “I don’t think people want to hear about that kind of thing. What they want to hear is what my plans are for this country.”
The Sun reports that some party supporters “jeered” Dale and cheered Johnson’s response. Yet Dale continued to press him, insiting that “if the police are called to your home, it makes it everyone’s business”.
“You are running for office, not just of Conservative Party leader but of prime minister,” Dale added.
In response, Johnson told the audience not to “boo the great man” but claimed that he had “tried to give my answer pretty exhaustively”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ukraine's Olympians: going for gold in the line of fire
Under the Radar Hundreds of the country's athletes have died in battle, while those who remain deal with the psychological toll of war and prospect of Russian competitors
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
David Cameron resigns as Sunak names shadow cabinet
Speed Read New foreign secretary joins 12 shadow ministers brought in to fill vacancies after electoral decimation
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The five moments it went wrong for the Tories
In Depth From Partygate to the budget that broke Britain, the pivotal points in the Conservative Party's decline
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
General election: Britain heads to the polls
In depth Voters have remained 'curiously unengaged' throughout a campaign which seems to many like a foregone conclusion
By The Week UK Published
-
Bellwether seats and 'big beasts' at risk: how election night will unfold
In the Spotlight Excitement will 'really ramp up' as key constituencies declared through the night
By The Week UK Published
-
First-past-the-post: time for electoral reform?
Talking Point If smaller parties win votes but not seats, the 2024 election could be a turning point for proportional representation
By The Week UK Published